


How to deal

by crazed_peanut



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Dan Howell - Freeform, Established Relationship, M/M, Phil Lester - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 17:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4885189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazed_peanut/pseuds/crazed_peanut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The video leaks. They decide what to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to deal

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!  
> The events and characters in the story are a figment of my imagination.

“This is getting out of hand!” Dan said as he angrily shut his laptop.  
“I can’t stop them from sharing it.” Phil said quietly.  
“It’s not about the video, Phil, we both know how the internet works. Once it’s out there, it’ll multiply, people are going to download it and share it as long as we’re relevant. And it doesn’t matter how many times you claim copyright. But they… they’re disgusting, Phil! Our subscribers who are supposed to be our support group, they’re speculating in the most revolting way possible.”  
“Dan...” Phil tried to interrupt.  
“They’re discussing us like we’re not even real, like we’re characters in a story and they can twist it however they like. Don’t they understand this video was private? I’d be embarrassed to watch something so intimate from someone else. The fact that it’s online doesn’t automatically mean they HAVE to see it.”  
Dan had stood up from the couch, eyes full of angry tears, arms flailing around. As if consciously trying to counter balance the situation, Phil was still sat down, quietly and calmly. Dan stopped talking and Phil put his hand on Dan’s leg. It was his way of reassuring both of them that they’re in this mess together. It calmed Dan down a little bit.  
“I just…. I don’t want them to know, Phil. For god’s sake, you talked about us having sex!” Phil looked down guiltily and Dan noticed. “I wasn’t trying to say it was your fault, you couldn’t have known what was going to happen. But I wish it’d stayed between me and you, just how it was supposed to.”  
“They don’t know anything, Dan. I mean… They only know what we tell them. And this isn’t that much. We kissed, we had sex, but the intimacy and feelings that were put into those kisses and acts are always going to be just between us. They can speculate as much as they want. It’s silly if you think about it. They believe they know so much about us, when in reality they actually don’t.”  
Dan had sat down again and was leaning into Phil, then asked nervously:  
“What do you think we should do?”  
“Well, depends what you’re comfortable with.”  
“You mean coming out.”  
Phil hesitated. “Yes.”  
“Yeah… yeah, I think that would be best. Rumors are always worse, aren’t they? If we tell the truth, we won’t leave them place for speculation. If we deny it, we’d have to hide all the time. I don’t want to live in fear my whole life from someone seeing us on the streets.”  
Phil didn’t want that either. Sure, he’d be more comfortable keeping it a secret, but on the other hand he didn’t want to behave like a criminal when he was out with his boyfriend, as if he was doing something wrong. It was bad enough in the past couple of years, they always looked around before holding hands, and rarely kissed in public, but now the people that know who they are have multiplied and by the looks of things, the trend was going to continue.  
“If you’re not ready, we don’t have to do it. I hate the idea just as much as you do, we’re sharing something so personal with so many people.” Phil winced just at the idea how everyone will know he shares his bed with Dan every night.  
“You know I’m not ready, Phil. But we need to do this. Not today though. We still need to tell our families what we’re planning.”  
“Okay.” Phil answered.  
“I really don’t want to make a video.” Dan continued. “I’d rather we wrote a tumblr post or something. It’s gonna spread anyway. Besides, it’s not like we owe them a video.”  
“I think you’re right.” Phil really didn’t want them to film themselves either. It wasn’t such a relevant announcement. “I’m going to call my mom.”  
“Can I stay with you while you talk to her?” Dan asked sheepishly and Phil nodded and gave him a kiss.  
The phone rang once, twice and then his mother picked up.  
“Hi, Philip, is everything okay?”  
Shit, he forgot it was after 10pm.  
“Hi, mom, yes, everything is fine… kind of. We’re not sick or anything, but I have something to tell you.”  
So he went on to explain about the video, why it was on the internet and how it leaked.  
“Oh, Phil, I’m sorry! It’s a tough situation.”  
“Thanks, Mom, but I think we figured out what to do.” He paused for a second and looked down at Dan, who had now laid in his lap. “We’re going to tell them it’s true.”  
His mom hesitated a little. “Are you sure, son? Is Dan okay with that? I know he… well, you both wanted to keep it private.”  
“We’re a little taken aback, yeah. But we decided this had potentially the least negative effects of all our options.”  
“Okay, honey, thanks for telling me about it. Send my love to Dan.”  
“I will. Bye, mom.”  
When he hung up Dan was crying in his lap. The younger became self-aware when he realized Phil was no longer talking with his mother. He felt the need to apologize.  
“I’m sorry, I’m just scared, and that’s all.”  
“You don’t need to be sorry, you’re allowed to be scared. I am too.”  
With this Phil laid down on the sofa next to his boyfriend and they were silent for a long while, before some of the tension finally dissipated. They had a late snack together and went to bed.  
***  
They avoided the subject (and the internet, though Phil was sure Dan had looked up some of the recent tweets) until the late afternoon. When they finally sat down to write it, they quickly became frustrated. Everything they thought of seemed too much and unnecessary. Finally, Dan shut himself in his room for two hours before dinner and Phil knew better than to bother him. He finally came out around 9.  
“I think I have something that can work. You should look at it though. I mean, if you don’t like something, we’ll change it.”  
As Phil took the laptop away from Dan he could tell this whole mess had quickly taken a toll on his boyfriend. He seemed ill and as if he’d been crying, but Phil knew his face looked like that from anger.  
Hello, internet!  
As you may have already noticed, a few days ago a video was accidentally unprivated on Phil’s side channel, lessamazingphil. It was a video he’d made for me last year when I was away. We didn’t address it until now, because it was a very personal video, which we’d wished had remained that way and we didn’t know what to say really. It would be unfair towards you guys if we tried to pass it of as a joke or something. So consider this a confirmation of sorts that we are, indeed together.  
Obviously we would have liked this information to remain private, so we ask you to be as respectful as possible to us both. This isn’t something that has to do a lot with the content we create or our personalities online, that’s why this isn’t a YouTube video.  
Love you, guys! Thanks for the support!  
:Dan  
Phil took a deep breath. It was actually pretty good. Dan was pacing nervously in the lounge.  
“You did a good job, Dan. I think it will have to do.”  
“Really? I don’t think we can do much better to be honest. Besides, I don’t want us to explain ourselves too much. We’re not guilty of anything.”  
“That’s true. Are you going to post it tonight?” Phil asked.  
“Yeah, let’s just get it over with.”  
“Did you call your parents yet?” Phil asked.  
Dan quickly shut down the family conversation. “You know they wouldn’t care either way. They’ll find out.”  
“Do you want me to post it for you?” Phil offered.  
“Thanks.” Dan was grateful he didn’t have to do it himself.  
A couple of seconds of nervous anticipation later, it was done. That was it, now they all knew the truth. Dan still felt shitty. He didn’t want it to happen this way. He didn’t even plan on them getting big enough so that people would actually care. Phil as if read his mind.  
“It’s okay. It’s going to create a buzz for a couple of months and then they’d forget about it. It’ll be something that they just know, not the sensational news it is right now.”  
“And we don’t have to talk to them about it ever again?” Dan asked.  
“Never.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all! Thank you for reading! I'm posting for the first time here!  
> Writing phanfics is my coping mechanism, so I'll keep posting them even if they're not good or original.  
> Please stop by in the comments and hit the kudos if you like this!  
> Also, check out my other works here, since I don't have a tumblr!


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